David Burns, R-Alfred, has resigned his seat in the Maine House of Representatives during an ethics investigation by the Attorney General’s Office. A spokeswoman at the Attorney General’s Office said the review of Burns is ongoing. When he made the announcement House speaker Nutting said the investigation has concluded.

“I believe this is the appropriate step for him to take, as we Republicans insist our members maintain the highest ethical standards possible,” said Rep. Nutting.

“I’m relieved to see that Rep. Burns finally resigned his seat after months of controversy around his abuse of Clean Elections funds,” said Cain. “No lawmaker – Republican or Democrat – is above the law. We must be held to higher standard and should not tolerate the abuse of taxpayer dollars.”

Read more ›

Portland lawmaker Rep. Mark Dion has made a second request for a  formal opinion from the Attorney General on whether State Treasurer Bruce Poliquin’s business dealings in the Popham Beach Club are in violation of Article V, Pt. 3, § 3 of the Maine Constitution, which prohibits the Treasurer from engaging in commerce while serving in office.

Article V, Pt. 3, § 3 reads as follows: “The Treasurer shall not, during the Treasurer’s continuance in office, engage in any business of trade or commerce, or as a broker, nor as an agent or factor for any merchant or trader.”

Read more ›

“On April 1st, the state of Maine will default, it will not have money to pay the fourth quarter of 2012 Medicaid payments,” Gov. LePage said after he interrupted the work of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee.

The state’s fiscal year begins in July giving lawmakers three months to work out the issue. LePage went on to tell legislators that their failure to cut $221 million from the budget will force him seek cuts to state education to close the gap.

“I will be calling you back and asking you to give the GPA money so that I don’t have to close nursing homes and we will probably close schools, ” he said. “Or by Feb. 1st, you give me curtailment orders so I can start saving money. This is not normal politics, this not rhetoric.”

But this issue would not be able to be classified under a curtailment order.

Read more ›

“I had hoped that all of these legislative leaders would have had an interest in preserving the integrity of fair and clean elections. It benefits all of us to overcome the widespread perception that politicians can be bought and sold like race car drivers whose corporate sponsors are emblazoned on their jackets,” said Rep.John Hinck. “Instead, Maine Republicans toed the party line to block this important effort to protect Maine’s body politic from special interest influences and ensure the integrity of Maine electoral system.”

Members of the Legislative Council, made up of six Republicans and four Democrats from the House and Senate Leadership, stopped consideration of Hinck’s legislation which would have barred corporations from making contributions to candidates running at the state level in Maine. The legislation, entitled “An Act to Limit to Natural Persons the Right to Contribute to Political Campaigns,” was submitted on the heels of a Montana Supreme Court decision upholding Montana’s ban less than a month ago.

Read more ›

Matt talks about the new coalition that promotes and protects workers and their families courtesy photo

“Today we draw the line,” said Maine Women’s Lobby Director of Public Policy Laura Harper, speaking at a press conference announcing the creation of the Maine Working Families Coalition. “With so many Maine people struggling to make ends meet in the worst recession since the Great Depression, we should be working together to find ways to create jobs – not to punish those who have lost theirs.”

The coalition represents a number of civic, service, religious and business organizations from across the state with the shared goal of a balanced approach to growing Maine’s economy that supports both employers and employees. Coalition members assert that economic security for working families is a necessity for future growth of Maine’s businesses and economy.

Read more ›

Maine Can Do Better, a broad coalition of more than 150 partner organizations, held a vigil tonight before Gov. Paul LePage’s State of the State Address to draw attention to his irresponsible and dangerous budget proposals.

“We are here representing the people who cannot be here to speak for themselves. We are here because we believe Maine can do better,” said Betsey Sweet, a founding member of the Maine Can Do Better coalition. “We believe the budget proposal is irresponsible. And while some politicians only think as far as the next election, we are Mainers for the long haul. When we look at the numbers, it is clear that we don’t have a fiscal crisis, we have a priorities crisis.”

Read more ›

A day before the State of the State House and Senate Democratic leaders challenged Gov. Paul LePage to set a more positive tone for the year and to, “put aside ideology and extremism. Why LePage chose to give his address on the same night, as President Barack Obama’s State of the Union remains a mystery.

“Too much time has been spent on distractions on needless fighting, on baseless attacks and on extreme policies that don’t create jobs, that don’t help working families and that don’t strengthen our economy,” said House Minority Leader Emily Cain of Orono.

According to a recent Department of Labor report Maine has lost 4,400 jobs since LePage’s was inaugurated. Department of Labor, while unemployment levels have remained flat.

Read more ›

State Rep. Jon Hinck, a candidate for the United States Senate, announced that he has submitted a bill in the Maine Legislature effectively barring corporate contributions to candidates for state office in Maine. The bill, entitled “An Act to Limit to Natural Persons the Right to Contribute to Political Campaigns,” mirrors a law passed in Montana which was subsequently upheld by Montana’s Supreme Court.

“Today marks the two year anniversary of the controversial 5 to 4 Supreme Court Decision in Citizens United case,” said Hinck, who has made pushing back against special interests a centerpiece of his campaign, “in just two short years, Americans are realizing the disastrous ramifications of that decision on our Democracy. We must act here, in Maine, to prevent the corrupting influences of special interest corporations on our elections.”

Read more ›

January 21st marks the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission. This decision gives corporations, associations, and labor unions the same free speech right as individual citizens. And consequently, grants corporations carte blanche spending on political campaigns. The consequences of the Citizens United ruling has been profoundly negative on elections across our country. Essentially, the voice of the people has been drowned out by the voice of multi-billion dollar corporations.

And, Mainers know what this means. It means that these corporate sponsors who fund high priced political campaigns buy a seat at the table and call the shots once their candidate is in office.

Read more ›

Governor LePage’s commented at a Capitol for a Day event in Lewiston that he would have to close schools April 1, 2012, to meet the budget needs.

“It is unconscionable that the Governor is using school children as leverage for his agenda,” said Sen. Alfond. “Maine’s Constitution is clear. The Governor does not have the authority to shut down Maine’s schools.”

According to the Lewiston Sun Journal, the governor specifically said, “If the Legislature didn’t ratify his proposed budget he would be forced to close the state’s schools.”

“The governor’s statements are not accurate, and they are not helpful in solving the problems we face,” said Rep. Emily Cain, D-Orono, the House Democratic Leader. “Making dramatic statements and presenting false choices distracts from real work and creates unnecessary fear in our communities. The Appropriations Committee is working hard to make incredibly difficult choices and find alternatives to the governor’s budget. These continued distractions will not put us any closer to solving the budget challenge. We urge the governor to focus on the facts instead of drumming up fear and blame.”

Read more ›